


A Night to Forget

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen, tw alcohol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-10 22:50:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20143285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Avis drags Daine out of the house to drown his sorrows after the events of Shattered Trust and everything leading up to that. Daine belongs to HellishSam and Avis belongs to pirateofjorvik on tumblr.





	A Night to Forget

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HellishSam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellishSam/gifts).

Daine felt like a wreck. And, honestly, who could blame him? He'd only fallen in love, lost his virginity, and had his heart completely and utterly broken (all with the same person, mind) in the span of a few weeks. Barely even a month. So really, was it so bad that Daine just wanted some time alone? That he just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep until his heart stopped aching? Was it so fucking hard to just leave him the hell alone?

According to his friends, the answer to those questions was 'yes'. Or, at least, one of his friends. The only one who was brave or stupid enough to not be frightened away by his anger. The one who currently stood in his doorway, currently holding the ceramic mug that Daine had hurled at him in an attempt to make him piss off.

"Do you have a fucking death wish or something?" Daine snapped at him. Avis' smirk only widened to a grin in return.

"Nope. Contrary to popular belief, I just care about my friend," said Avis. Daine scowled at him.

"Oh yeah? Well, I don't want your fucking pity," said Daine. "Now, fuck off before I do something I'll regret."

"Like what?" Avis asked. "You've already done that, that's why you're feeling like shit right now." Even Avis flinched at that. "Sorry. That was harsh, even for me."

"You think?" Daine snapped, his voice rough. "Is that why you came here? To rub it in? Because trust me, I've been regretting it ever since, I don't need you to remind me." Tears pricked at his eyes, tears that he angrily brushed away. "I lost my spark, I can't do any fucking magic, hell, I'm lucky I was even able to change back to normal." Ydris would have gently scolded him, telling him to refer to his normal state as human. But it was hard to change the way he felt. Daine sniffed, turning away from Avis. "Just go away."

"No," said Avis. "Not without you."

"I'm not going anywhere," said Daine hotly. "Especially not with you."

"Well, you can't drown your sorrows at home," said Avis. "Because I snuck in while you were asleep and stole it all."

"You didn't," said Daine, his eyes widening as he began to search frantically through the kitchen cupboards for his stash. Turning up nothing, he turned to glare at his best friend. "You stole my fucking booze, you little shit, that shit's expensive!"

Avis gave a laugh that sounded vaguely reptilian as he darted outside, Daine in hot pursuit. Daine skidded to a halt once outside, his teeth grit in rage as he looked around for his friend. It was evening, the sky the same colour that Daine's eyes had been for the past few days ever since he'd... but no, he was too pissed off right now to let sadness creep in again.

"Avis!" Daine called. "Get back here, you asshole!" He heard another of Avis' strange giggles and turned to find his boy, his Cloud, standing there staring at him next to Avis' pinto trakehner.

"I'll shout you a beer in Mistfall," said Avis, easily swinging himself up into his saddle.

"I don't wanna go to Mistfall," Daine sulked. He didn't want to go anywhere, hadn't wanted to go anywhere since he'd been brought home and healed after that whole shitshow with Concorde and Ydris and the clock that had hurt him just as much as it had hurt Ydris. But not as much as Daine had hurt Ydris.

"Alright, fine," said Avis, shrugging. "Deal with your feelings sober, see if I care." The sight of Avis turning his horse to head away jolted Daine's heart back to life, sudden fear flooding him. He didn't want to be alone and sober, he didn't know what he'd do. Probably something stupid like crawling back to Ydris and begging for him to take him back.

"Wait," Daine called after him. Avis stopped his horse and turned in his saddle to face Daine. "Alright, fine, I'll come. But you're paying."

"That's generally what it means to shout someone a beer," said Avis, snickering as Daine mounted Cloud. He still laughed as Daine punched him in the shoulder.

"Ass," Daine muttered. Even being back in the saddle helped him a little, soothing him just somewhat. Maybe it was the feeling of Cloud so close to him, or just the very act of getting out of the house. And with Avis, Daine knew, he wouldn't be so tempted to go to that damn circus tent. Avis hated the bastard, and Daine wondered now if maybe his friends hating the guy he loved was a sign that the relationship would have been doomed anyway.

It helped, too, that Avis liked to travel by sea. Daine didn't even tremble anymore as he rode onto the ferry, the water sucking at the bottom of the ferry. He didn't look out at the water, though, his eyes instead straying to where he knew a familiar purple tent to be before his vision was instead filled by Avis' face.

"Don't even think about it," said Avis, tapping Daine on the nose. Daine reflexively snapped at Avis' fingers, which Avis snatched away. "Oy, touchy."

"Then don't put your fingers near my fucking face," said Daine.

"I thought you knew by now that I have no sense of self-preservation," said Avis.

"Neither do I, apparently," Daine muttered. Avis shoved his shoulder gently, and Daine sighed. He was too sober to deal with his feelings, too present. Why couldn't the ferry just hurry the hell up?

"You okay?" Avis asked Daine as the ferry finally docked at Dundull. For the majority of the trip, Daine had been silent, sinking deeper and deeper into his thoughts. Thoughts that always strayed to Ydris, no matter how much he didn't want them to. Ydris would have usually been the one to comfort Daine when he was feeling like this, so what was Daine supposed to do when it was Ydris who had made him feel like this? And he couldn't even distract himself the way he usually did, because he didn't want anyone else the way he wanted Ydris. He never had, not since Cole. Which was just another one of the things that wasn't normal about Daine.

"Where's the fucking tavern?" Daine croaked past the lump in his throat. Avis looked concerned for a moment but was quickly back to his old self, leading Daine to a brightly-lit tavern in the heart of Dundull. There was a place to tie their horses outside, which they did. Daine noticed a bay pinto mustang, and several other horses who also had saddle pads bearing the arms of the Jorvik Rangers. It was Ranger Night at the tavern, apparently. A flicker of Daine's old life flashed into his mind, when he'd once avoided places where the presence of authority was this high. But now, Daine headed inside behind Avis, trying not to look too miserable despite the fact that he'd gone several days without a shower. He probably didn't smell great but, well, that wasn't his problem. He was just here to drink until he could forget the sound of Ydris' voice, until he could forget the gentle touch of his hands, until he could forget the way that Ydris had looked at him and the way that he'd screamed and the way that he'd still reached for Daine even as Daine had been pulled away from him.

"Good evening, barkeep, one of your strongest liquors for fighting heartbreak, please," Avis said, putting on an act as he took his seat at the bar. Daine sat beside him, immediately burying his face in his folded arms on the bartop as his shoulders shook with repressed tears.

"Cheer up, plenty of fish in the sea," said the barkeep, sliding a bottle to Daine. Daine caught it instantly, lifting his head to find that it was labelled as moonshine. Well, no time like the present, he guessed. The cap had even been removed, making it easier for Daine to put the lip of the bottle to his lips and drink. It felt like fire racing down his throat, which almost made him choke at the realisation that maybe Ydris had felt like this when he'd been burned. A few more gulps of moonshine on an empty stomach did the job, though, Daine's thoughts being obscured by a slight haze. He felt detached. Numb. But tears still rolled down his cheeks at the memory of Ydris.

"D'you think I can forget about him if I drink enough?" Daine asked, holding the bottle up to the light. It was half empty now. How had that happened?

"You can always try," said Avis. He looked entirely too excited about that idea. Daine ignored him, though, and pressed the bottle to his lips once more, taking a longer gulp this time. Warmth slowly tingled through him, like the warmth of his magic, and for a moment, Daine almost thought that he'd gotten his powers back. But that thought faded into the background as a pleasant buzz spread through Daine's body. This was exactly why he'd come out here tonight. When he was in this state, pleasantly buzzed, Daine could forget all about the events of the past few weeks. Forget about how Ydris had made him feel, forget about the guilt that still gnawed at him, forget about how much of a fool he felt for falling for Ydris even when all of the signs pointed to him being a bad guy. Forget about how much he ached to go back to Ydris, to be in his arms, in his bed, once more.

In this state, he could even ignore the revulsion he felt whenever a stranger hit on him. Especially when it was a hot stranger. The guy had dark skin and darker eyes, his black hair cropped close to his head. And his hand was on Daine's thigh and their lips were together in moments, hard kisses that were more out of desperation than anything. And maybe this could work, maybe this could-

But then, a hand under Daine's shirt brought that feeling of wrongness rushing back. This shouldn't be happening with a stranger, it should be happening with Ydris, if at all. Daine pulled himself away from the stranger, his heart thudding, his mouth filling with bile, stomach churning.

"Get your hands off me, freak!" Daine snapped at him, pushing him away and stumbling away. He felt like he was going to puke, if only he could find a bush...

"Hey, are you okay?" There was another pretty boy when Daine raised his head, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Daine felt that spike of something again, followed quickly by revulsion. Why was he like this? Why couldn't he just be like any other guy, happy to throw himself at someone and drown in pleasure to get over someone or something? Maybe he just needed more to drink.

"I will be once I have more of that moonshine," said Daine, grinning at the pretty boy. A name tugged at the back of his mind. Alan? Alexander? Andrew? Something beginning with 'a'. And he had that cute accent that Daine couldn't quite put his finger on, and the prettiest eyes and brown hair that Daine just wanted to run his fingers through...

"I think you've had enough," said the pretty boy as Daine stumbled on his way back into the tavern. Daine scowled, rounding on him.

"I'll tell you when I've had enough!" Daine roared, and before he knew it, pretty boy was clutching his nose and Daine's knuckles were throbbing. It felt oddly good to hit someone.

"Okay, I think you're done here," said the pretty boy, his voice nasally, blood trickling through his fingers. "You're banned."

"You don't run this place!" Daine protested.

"Maybe not the bar, but I am head of the Jorvik Rangers," said the pretty boy. And then suddenly, it clicked. Daine had just broken Alonso's nose. Alonso, head of the Jorvik Rangers. That Alonso. Shit.


End file.
